The First Painting of Bharat Mata Was Created By This Artist More than 112 Years Ago

The painting that you see below is the first ever painting of Bharat Mata made by a teacher of Ahmedabad named Magan Lal Sharma. He named it Hind Devi. This painting emerged as the idol of united India for the first time during the battle for freedom.

What Does It Indicate?

The piece of art marks Kashmir as the crown of the country while feet touching the shores of Sri Lanka as if Lanka is devoting a lotus flower in its feet. The lady, shown as Bharat Mata, in the picture is holding a trident which is reaching from Sindh to Afghanistan whereas one part of her sari is touching the distant Bengal region. Her hair reflects the Himalaya region as well as the moving from the west to east.

How Did It Get Popular?

Soon after, people started talking about the painting and the painting got extremely popular. Then Raja Ravi Verma, the renowned painter, took the initiative and got thousands of copies in his German-based printing press. During the battle for freedom, the painting became the center of attraction from castles to rustic ‘Chaupals’.

It is said that coveted Poet Shri Rabindranath Tagore got inspiration from this painting and created the widely popular song ‘Ayi Bhubana Mano’ in 1930. Arvind Ghosh then called it a true piece of inspiration in the fight for freedom.

How did Magan Lal Got Inspired?

A saint from Gujrat had mentioned in his book ‘Santona Anuj’ that Magan Lal created this amazing painting after getting inspired from the freedom fighter Kripa Shankar Pandit and Dr. Hariprasad Desai.

What Is So Special About the Painting?

Magan Lal, through his painting, put the concept of united India in front of the country for the first time. Before this, Kiran Chandra Banerjee in 1873 wrote a play and named it ‘Bharat Mata’ but he had no picture to mention.

First Bharat Mata Temple

The first temple of Bharat Mata is located in Kaashi. It was built in 1936 by Babu Shiv Prasad Gupta and  Mahatma Gandhi consecrated the temple. A map of India is created with marble at the entrance of this temple.

Hope You like the answer. Thanks for reading!